


Sea and Stars        Collide

by Akabay



Category: Rurouni Kenshin
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-08
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-09-15 16:08:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9243329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akabay/pseuds/Akabay
Summary: Tora is a skilled swordswoman who lives a simple life. She makes a living guiding drunken men out of bars and tipping off the police of potential criminals. Lei is a charming samurai who has the attention of all the women of Kyoto, except for one. Tora refuses to give the cocky man the time of day, having a bad experience with men of his origin years ago. Besides, recently Tora rescued a child from slavery, and she has to be her priority rather than a relationship.  Although when disaster strikes, their hometown is nothing more than another conquest of Fan, a strange man with a disturbing past. He is said to be found where the sea and stars meet. Determined to avenge her town, Tora sets off for this unknown destination, meeting a few familiar faces along the way, and finally finding what she secretly desires.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story that was inspired by the time period that's featured in the anime Rurouni Kenshin.

Tora shrugged her blade back onto her shoulder, and with a small sigh, continued her journey towards Kyoto. The scenery was quite pretty: nearby a pure bubbling creek was surrounded by rich soil sprouting colorful varieties of flowers. 

In the distance Tora could make out a farmer working hard on their field, and smiled faintly in memory. She took a deep breath of the rich, earthy smell mixed with refreshing dew, swallowed her memories, and hurried along the dirt path again. 

By the looks of things, I should arrive in about half an hour, Tora thought with a yawn. A broad oak tree stood proudly off to the side, tempting Tora into taking a cat nap. The thought of food forced her to reconsider, but Tora gave and settled into a cozy nook in the tree.

Tora quickly dozed off, only to awaken what seemed like moments later to a terrified voice.

"Please help me!" A voice cried, their shriek waking Tora.

Tora blinked a few times, and turned to face the voice. A young child knelt before her, her pale face stricken with grief. The child's face was wet with tears, her warm green eyes bloodshot. 

Tora shot up from her cozy spot and placed her hands on the child's shoulders. 

"What would be the matter, child?" Tora queried, wondering what could have made a young child so terrified. 

The girl peeked over her bare shoulder, then suddenly clung to Tora's waist.

"That man is chasing me! I work for him and tried to run away, but he chased me. He's trying to kill me!" The girl screeched, sobbing as a broad man approached them.

Tora detached the girl from her waist gently, and put herself in between the man and the child, gripping her sword protectively.

"May I ask what you want with this child, sir?" Tora asked the dark man, scowling as she saw he had a whip tucked into his sharp kimono.

The man was about 6'2, and unpleasant to say the least. His sharp teeth were crooked and stained, blue eyes wild, and mouth turned up into a smirk. Tora could not say she liked the looks of him.

"None of ya business, broad. Now hand over the girl, and I won't hurt ya." He snarled, giving his whip a vicious snap in their direction.

The child whimpered, digging her dirty calloused fingers into the back of Tora's kimono. Tora gave the girl a reassuring pat on the head, and stepped away from her.

Tora raised an eyebrow at the rowdy man, momentarily grateful she could defeat him and help someone at the same time. Usually Tora only guided drunken men out of bars before they could seriously hurt someone. The job was a bit boring, but it paid well.

Tora slowly reached behind her back, slid out her thick katana, and gripped it's sturdy handle as she lowered herself into position.

The man chuckled at her, shook his head and attacked Tora. His whip sliced through the air, wrapping itself around Tora's blade. Tora remained impassive, and with a simple turn of her wrist, brought her blade to the ground. The movement sliced the pathetic whip in half. Tora dashed forward and grabbed the man by the front of his shirt.

"Get out of here now, before I do something I'll regret." Tora snarled, loosening her grip when the man's crystal eyes widened in fear.

"O-okay miss." He whispered, backing away several feet when Tora released her hold on him.

Tora looked back to the child for a moment, and in a split second the man darted forward and threw a left hook at her jaw. Tora saw this coming, and slid to the left, using her momentum to knee him in the stomach. He groaned but continued throwing blind punches Tora's way, to which she dodged every one. After his sloppy punch passed her head, Tora saw an opening, and threw a hard punch at his left temple. She made contact, and with a crunch he was on the ground, groaning. Tora glanced boredly down at the man's crumpled figure, and with a shrug made her way to the small child. The girl stared up at Tora in awe, grinning as she knelt beside her.

"Alright kid, you have any family around here?" Tora asked softly.

The girl frowned and shook her head, a sad look deep in her eyes. 

"No miss...my parents died a few years ago from exhaustion. My ancestors and I have been working for his family for nearly a century." She whispered, shaking her head.

Tora was filled with anger towards this man. How on earth could this man sleep at night? Of course, she had met people much worse...

Tora wiped the girls hot tears away with a kind hand. She grabbed the child's hand, and with a smile hopped to her feet.

"How about you come live with me? I usually don't stay in one place for very long, but I've been meaning to settle down anyways. How about it kid?" Tora asked, trying to keep the hopefulness out of her tone. She had been living alone for awhile, and had been wanting to make a friend or two. 

The girl didn't hesitate to nod. She threw her arms around Tora with a huge toothy grin.

"Thank you lady...hey what's your name? I'm Fuku." She chirped curiously.

Tora smiled kindly, enjoying the warm feeling she felt at not having to live alone anymore. 

"I'm Tora." 

Fuku nodded and was about to speak when her stomach made a loud rumbling noise. She crossed her arms over her stomach with a small smile, and shrugged in a what can you do sort of way.

Tora laughed softly as her stomach also rumbled hungrily, and suggested they go get something to eat. Fuku smiled and nodded excitedly, and Tora couldn't help but wonder when her last good meal was.

Poor child, Tora thought. After they had been walking for a little while, Tora made up her mind. She was going to take this child in and protect her like she was her own, and finally have a family. And who knows, Tora thought, maybe I'll meet someone and fall in love someday.

Tora blushed scarlet, and shook her head, trying to rid herself of those thoughts. Right now, her main priority was finding a place for Fuku and herself to stay, and she was going to do her best to focus on that.


End file.
